Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

anomaly

 - 6 dictionary results

a⋅nom⋅a⋅ly

[uh-nom-uh-lee]
–noun, plural -lies.
1. a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form.
2. someone or something anomalous: With his quiet nature, he was an anomaly in his exuberant family.
3. an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.
4. an incongruity or inconsistency.
5. Astronomy. a quantity measured in degrees, defining the position of an orbiting body with respect to the point at which it is nearest to or farthest from its primary.
6. Meteorology. the amount of deviation of a meteorological quantity from the accepted normal value of that quantity.
7. Grammar. irregularity.

Origin:
1565–75; < L anōmalia < Gk anōmalía, equiv. to anmal(os) anomalous + -ia -ia


1, 2. abnormality, exception, peculiarity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To anomaly
a·nom·a·ly   (ə-nŏm'ə-lē)   
n.   pl. a·nom·a·lies
  1. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.

  2. One that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify: "Both men are anomalies: they have . . . likable personalities but each has made his reputation as a heavy" (David Pauly).

  3. Astronomy The angular deviation, as observed from the sun, of a planet from its perihelion.

a·nom'a·lis'tic adj., a·nom'a·lis'ti·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

anomaly 
1571, from L. anomalia, from Gk. anomalia, noun of quality from anomalos "uneven, irregular," from an- "not" + homalos "even," from homos "same" (see same).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: anom·a·ly
Pronunciation: &-'näm-&-lE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -lies
: a deviationfrom normal especially of a bodily part anomalies> anomalies>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

anomaly a·nom·a·ly (ə-nŏm'ə-lē)
n.
A deviation from the average or norm.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

anomaly

in astronomy, originally the nonuniform (anomalous) apparent motions of the planets. In present usage, three kinds of anomaly are distinguished to describe the position in the orbit of a planet, a satellite, or a star (in a binary system) around the centre of mass. The following text relates to the orbit of a planet. True anomaly is the angle, V, between lines drawn from the centre of mass (near the centre of the Sun, S), to a planet P, and to the perihelion point B, where the planet comes closest to the Sun. The mean anomaly is the angle between lines drawn from the Sun to the perihelion B and to a point (not shown) moving in the orbit at a uniform rate corresponding to the period of revolution of the planet. The eccentric anomaly is the angle E, between the perihelion B, the centre of the ellipse at C, and the point P', which is located by drawing a perpendicular to AB passing through the planet and intersecting a circle of diameter AB.

Learn more about anomaly with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see anomaly on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: